[drivingpairs] Pair musings

I very much prefer starting young horses in the pair. Maybe because I am a 
confirmed pair driver. I don't do much single driving at all. I can teach 
bending much better in the pair (figure eights - and I just wrote a long 
article for 
the Pairs website on it. We'll wait till Helen puts it up if you want to read 
more on it- although I have mentioned it a few times already on the list).  
But then, since I am a pair driven in my heart, I have no need to teach the 
horse much single driving either, as I never plan to use them much single. I 
want 
to use them in a pair. This is the pairs list, so here I can admit it. Horses 
are herd animals, they like to be in a pair. So why bother to drive single if 
you have a pair :-).   But yes, I also admit, sometimes they must go single. 
If one doesn't want to pull at all, hey, here comes the tire to pull in the 
ring, first light and slowly weight added. He'll learn to pull. Also, of 
course, 
I have the luxury that my wife does a lot of training under saddle, which 
helps working out some single issues.  But I also find driving a young horse in 
the pair much safer. The older horse give the youngster confidence. He can't 
just turn around and leave town, when he spooks, the old guy holds him steady, 
etc etc.  I have a student here who has four mules and drives them in pairs. 
All of them are fine in the pair, she rides them too, and under saddle has had 
occasional spooks, turn arounds, run aways etc. So she is under strict 
instructions from me to never drive any of her 4 mules single. Too risky. But I 
encourage her to pair them up in any configuration, and it works fine (They are 
ready now also to be driven as four-in-hand, and I have trust and confidence 
that 
we won't have any problems at all. But I don't want to drive any of them 
single. No sir, not me.) 

So for me, friends, it's pairs - and up. The more the merrier. No problem 
either to put a youngster in the wheel of a team. He has even more security 
there, and learns best to go through water, up hills etc etc. Learning in the 
group 
is much easier than by himself, I think.

But I agree, if you do plan to use the horse single one day, or also in a 
tandem, sure, then they also must learn to work single properly.
Hardy

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